Dushanbe means Monday in Tajik - from a market day grew a capital of a country

Dushanbe is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. Dushanbe means Monday in the Tajik language.  It was so named because it grew from a village that originally had a popular market on Mondays (as Dushanbe means Monday in Persian language). Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe  and from 1929 to 1961 as Stalinabad. As of 2014, Dushanbe’s population was 778,500.

It is at the confluence of two rivers, Varzob 

and Kofarnihon. The first written reference to Dushanbe occurred in 1676. The first map showing Dyushambe was in 1875. At that time, the town was a fortress on a steep bank on the left bank of the Varzob River with 10,000 residents. In 1920, the last Emir of Bukhara  briefly took refuge in Dyushambe after being overthrown by the Bolshevik revolution. 

The Soviets transformed the area into a centre for cotton and silk production, and tens of thousands of people relocated to the city. The population also increased with thousands of Tajiks migrating to Tajikistan following the transfer of Bokhara and Samarkand to Uzbekistan. 

A statue of Lenin once stood at the city center, but it was replaced with a monument to Ismail Somoni, the Tajik amir during the 10th century. Somoni is hailed as the Tajik nation's father, and the towering golden monument is a source of great pride for the locals. This statue commemorates Somoni after whom the currency is named, and is located very centrally on Rudaki beside Kohe Joma movie theater and in front of the massive National Library. Apparently, the crown is 10 kilograms of tajik gold.

The streets are lined with old and tall trees and benches, so in the evenings a stroll along Rudaki is quite pleasant. Rudaki Park also features numerous fountains lit by coloured lights. Lots of families come there at all times of the day or evening. 

Its long, beautiful tree-lined central avenue still passes a collection of pastel-hued neoclassical buildings from its original Soviet incarnation. This is threatened with demolition as new glitzy, oversized newcomers rise in discordant style. The focus for this curious renaissance is a manicured central park dominated by a vast new museum and the world's tallest flag pole. Around the edges, the city has plenty of Brezhnev-era apartment-block ghettos. Yet remarkably, the atmosphere is one of unthreatening calm… perhaps related to the fact that so much of the male population are away working in Russia.

This complex is known as Kom Navrozgoh or Navruz Palace. There are many halls and primarily its a conference centre and wedding hall. Beautiful gardens and fountains create a great ambience. 

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     Cafe Merve: Excellent Turkish owned Restaurant: Kebab, Pizza, salads, french fries, cakes, coffee and delicious breakfast (feta with olives). loved by local people and by us...super food. It is on Rudaki 92.

The country's best museum is the Museum of National Antiquities. The vast collection focuses largely on the Greco-Bactrian sites of Kobadiyan and Takhti-Sangin, but there is also an interesting exhibit of Sogdian murals. Other highlights include a statue of the Buddha of Ajina-Tepe and a 6th-century hilt and scabbard shaped like a griffin. The Buddha dates to the Kushan era and is the largest of its kind in Central Asia. Visitors are welcome to see the 12-meter long statue, but they must cover their shoes with plastic booties before entering the space

Museum of Antiquities is on the street directly across from Opera Ballet. It is quite old fashioned. It is great for historians of contemporary Tajikistan, and there are very few English captions. The huge statue of a reclining Buddha on the second floor validates a visit on its own merits. 

The Museum of Ethnography, which displays the samples of Tajik arts with the display of pottery, carpets, jewelry and musical instruments from all historical epochs of Tajikistan. Absolutely outstanding. This museum is next door costs less and is certainly worth a visit. This museum is often left out by groups and we just happened to see it.  

The library building was constructed in traditional Tajik style in a combination with the elements of modern architecture. It stores six million books in many languages of the world. The most treasured there are books written by the peoples of Ancient Orient and ancient manuscripts of Rudaki, Firdausi, Ibn Sino, Saadi which are in a safe museum vault under temperature control conditions. We had to meet the Dep Director to see this unit.

Oldest book there is by Abdul Jafar Moh’d ibn Jurir al Tabari b. 838 d. 922. “The history of Tabari – 13/14^th Century”. 

We went to see two bazaars. Zilioni Bazaar or green bazaar is the biggest bazaar in downtown Dushanbe known for a huge variety of foods including dried fruit, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, meats, and bread, as well as an odd assortment of tools and household products. It is possible to see the entire bazaar in an hour or two. Korvon Bazaar, shown here, is about a 30 minute ride from downtown, the main large goods market in town. Korvon actually is a series of huge sheds like Nissen huts and stretches even across the road. Well indicated gates ensure you know where you enter and don’t get lost.

 It has a massive indoor clothing and shoes section as well as a smaller food section. It is also the place to go to find rugs, although most of the rugs come from Turkey, not Tajikistan. 

We spent a most enjoyable three days in Dushanbe before joining our Uzbekistan tour group. It’s a nice clean city and we were fortunate in getting an excellent travel agent to show us around.